BMW Helps US Olympic Swimmers Perfect Their Form

The last place you want your BMW vehicle is in the pool. But it turns out that if you’re an Olympic swimmer, you might not mind a little BMW technology in the water with you. The BMW brand is now in its sixth year as the Official Mobility Partner of the US Olympic Committee. The company’s past contributions to US Olympic efforts have included the development of bobsleds for the US Olympic team and carbon fiber racing wheelchairs for the Paralympic track and field team. Next up: the US Olympic swimming team.

The BMW brand is hard at work developing self-driving cars. It turns out that the same computer vision technology that helps these futuristic vehicles see other cars, lanes, and pedestrians can also be used to track the body movements of swimmers. The process involves placing LED lights on key points of motion along a swimmer’s body—like the shoulders, hips, knees, wrists, and ankles. The LEDs have been designed to be small enough and light enough not to be felt by the swimmer or impede motion, but durable enough to handle the rigors of an Olympic swim.

Once the LEDs are in place, an underwater camera is used to follow them, tracking these key motion points along the simmer’s body. Armed with that footage, the swimmer and his or her coach can review form and technique, pinpointing areas to hone in on.

So not only does the BMW brand make some of the best cars and SUVs on the road, like the 2016 BMW 5 Series, now they’re also helping to make some of the best swimmers in the pool. While the Olympics may not be in your future, an advanced BMW automobile certainly can be. Just head on into Bill Jacobs BMW near Aurora, IL to test drive a BMW vehicle today, like the 2016 BMW X5. We look forward to your visit!